Get a grip woman!

Suffolk_lass

Well all the shelves from the oven and fridge in the van have been through the dishwasher and my Amazing basket currently features lots of silicon tape... DH cleaned most of the outside and I concentrated on the inside. We have a greenhouse heater that we can deploy inside the van to help with dehumidification, alongside some damp traps but it is clear that we have more than a couple of days needed under cover during the winter to do some substantial re-sealing work.

In the bathroom, the shower was better than I expected and the bathroom itself just needed a thorough clean. I need to get a vacuum in there to do the beds and upholstery too, before we go away next weekend. The worst bit was part of the stove - the hotplate tops I thought were black are actually stainless steel - deployment of a teaspoon alongside scourers eventually shifted the worst of it! We are getting there.

Spent ages in GoOutdoors yesterday and bought a table-top BBQ/stove that is like an upgraded CampingGaz stove we have had for twenty years. It will let us cook outdoors when weather permits and is destined to be part of 'the kit' we keep in the van.

Dump run today (we know how to live!) before a friend comes over this afternoon for me to help her with her hair ahead of an event she needs to attend tomorrow.

Eager_Elephant

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

We have a local (within 15 miles) management facility with an incinerator that I have organised a visit and tour of, next month. I have a few questions I am going to pre-notify to them and over on Starmummy's diary I offered to share them. If anyone has other questions, feel free to put them here and I will come up with a final list in a week or two

I'm a bit behind but just wanted to say that you will love this visit, I went 2 years ago and it was so interesting.
I think it was the highlight of my year - yes, I am that sad:rotfl:

Suffolk_lass

It's not sad EE! We have been to two events over the last week in the Village and at both I have been told how much others are looking forward to coming or hearing about our trip! I need to cut through all the apocryphal stories about what they do and do not burn and so on

Watty1

I'm particulary intererested in what can't be burnt. Since discovering locally that the rubbish is burnt I've let go of an lot of my angst over rubbish particularly plastics. But my info came from web research rather than actual facts from a centre ..so ..looking forward to hearing more

Suffolk_lass

Lots of van prep going on over here! DH has bought a new base for the passenger seat and spent all day fitting it and new seat covers (over covers to protect the original fabric) - the seat still needs to swivel but because he is so tall and long in the body, the original one meant he was looking at the sun visor rather than through the windscreen, and the internal fittings were very close to his head. He has gained about 3" drop for when I am driving.

Twice I have caught myself on the handbrake button (which is on the door side so the seats can swivel) getting out - first time I really bruised my coccyx - Sunday the pocket on my jeans caught and ripped the bum out of my jeans and pants :eek: - I seriously need to cultivate a different dismount method!

I bought a very small fan heater that is great for boosting things when we have electric hook up (I am using it to air the van this week) - we need to try sleeping out in the drive tonight or tomorrow, just so we know.

Still no heating on in the house as the range is enough for us with a small electric convector for an hour in the sitting room

trix-a-belle

SL
Has the van got solar panels? I've recently done some curtains and seat covers for a home conversion camper which has them and it's crazy how much charge their panels provide

Suffolk_lass

We have one on the roof of the van trix, although it was down to 20% charge until DH got up there to clean it and the sky-lights. We are definitely going to need to reseal and re-seat them properly this winter. The previous owners used to spend a lot of their time in Spain and Portugal, (whereas we are hoping for UK trips in the main) and the UV from the sun has ensured all the seals are a bit knackered (official term that).

There are two leisure batteries in there too and they recharge quite quickly with a mains plug in.

[STRIKE]Interested in [/STRIKE] Ooh! Just checked out the seat covers and curtains you did via your website and FB page. They are lovely. We have been talking about the possibility of some plain dyed upholstery grade calico covers using the originals as a template (and possibly a slightly thicker mattress) as we are bigger (longer and heavier) than the previous owners.

trix-a-belle

aaaahhhh i've made the connection now
you've reminded me I really must get into better habits updating my website more often, I did a recent sort as it hadn't been touched for nearly 2 years but want to put stuff up quicker on there as you never know what platform people will find you, its so easy to post up on insta & fb

give me a shout if I can help at all, i've (understandably) got quite a few sources for foam in a large selection of varieties, the foam does have a limited lifespan yet is often overlooked.

good good, you should be well sorted with 2 leisure batteries and the solar panel :T
worth trying a rubber seal care stick, i've had a tiny bottle of stuff a friend recommended years ago to use on my car as it only needed a drop or 2 per seal but with the van being larger maybe try 'Gummi Pflege Rubber Care Stick' which has a bit more volume

Suffolk_lass

Thanks trix - I may well PM you after our trip away to test it out. Everything is taking longer than we expected and the washbasin is yet to be re-sealed. We also need to flush through the 100l water tank which I would like to clean between emptying and refilling.

That product sounds good. I unhelpfully pushed a small split into the fridge door seal while cleaning with a teaspoon on a cloth to get all the bits out and it might offer the solution

I have a list of other non-van relatedtasks to complete in the next week but need to prioritise.

Karmacat

The solar panels sound very interesting! Loving individual camper van conversions too